While three out of four racers had guaranteed places at Phoenix Raceway today, it took the sanctioning body 27 minutes to decide between William Byron and Christopher Bell for the final spot. Mark Martin echoed a sentiment many fans felt after the 2024 Xfinity 500 concluded. The NASCAR Hall of Famer was thoroughly unimpressed with an illegal move and potential race manipulation, causing a significant delay in determining which drivers made it to Championship 4.

Eventually, the verdict went in favor of the Hendrick Motorsports driver, who made it to the winner-takes-all race for the second year in a row. However, that didn’t stop Martin from sharing his views on social media to describe the penultimate race of the Cup Series season.

To say that the 2024 Xfinity 500 was marred by controversy would be an understatement, as there were plenty of talking points when the checkered flag was waved on the 0.526-mile. Even though wall rides have been deemed illegal since Ross Chastain’s famous ‘Hail Melon’ two years ago, Christopher Bell was found guilty of a safety violation after riding the Turn 4 wall to the start-finish line. This came after he overtook Bubba Wallace, who appeared to have slowed down to let his fellow Toyota driver make the pass.

Eventually, NASCAR penalized Bell by relegating him to 22nd in the race, which meant William Byron progressed into Championship 4 after finishing four points ahead in the driver standings. The sanctioning body’s officials also told team owner Joe Gibbs that he was not permitted to protest the safety violation, which meant that the verdict was set in stone. Given the circumstances surrounding how the Xfinity 500 concluded, Mark Martin wrote on X, “We have a sh-t show here.”

The NASCAR legend has reason enough to think this way. Just like many fans, Mark Martin saw Bubba Wallace slow down while Christopher Bell attempted to overtake him to remain in contention for the championship. Justifying his actions, the 23XI Racing driver said, “I went loose or something broke. I was nursing it. Then, (Bell) tried to slide me and I’m like, ‘Brother, I’m trying to bide our time and not crash and bring out a caution, jumble up the whole field.’ That was it.” It’s no secret that drivers with the same manufacturer help each other out in NASCAR, and Bell wasn’t the only driver who had assistance.

With just 10 laps to go, William Byron was protected by fellow Chevy drivers Austin Dillon and Ross Chastain. Despite the No. 24 Camaro being noticeably slower, his allies refused to make the pass, as they might have been reminded of Byron’s playoff points position to help him remain in contention for the title.

Instances such as this make fans question the integrity of the sport, as drivers across teams were unwilling to climb up the grid under the influence of external factors. Unsurprisingly, Mark Martin wasn’t impressed by how the race played out, and even HMS executive Jeff Gordon called the outcome “bittersweet.”

Jeff Gordon further justifies Chevy drivers blocking for William Byron

The vulnerabilities of the current playoff system were on full display at the 2024 Xfinity 500. Race manipulation is a big deal, but that didn’t stop Chevrolet drivers across teams from refusing to overtake William Byron during the closing laps of the race. Even though the elimination format has been modified several times in the last two decades, it seems to have made little strides in preventing drivers and teams from gaming the system.

Justifying the tactics used by William Byron’s No. 24 Chevy team, Hendrick Motorsports vice chairman Jeff Gordon said, “You never want to get in on a controversial voice call like this, so hard to get too excited, but we’re in and we’re going to go run for a championship. So that’s the best part. You work with your teammates and partners to try and give yourself the best chance to get in. It’s no different than when we go to Talladega and Daytona and how we work together to try to ensure success, but I couldn’t really tell you what was going on there.”

For purists such as Mark Martin, the sport is evolving in a direction that is quickly making it unrecognizable. The NASCAR legend previously criticized Christian Eckes for his win-at-all-costs attitude in the penultimate Truck Series race of the season, a factor that also played a big role in the Xfinity 500. The manufacturer’s title remains a big deal in the sport, and drivers are rewarded by the current monetary system for helping each other on the racetrack.

What this means is that either fans accept the direction the sport is gearing towards or make their voices heard to drastically change the points system in the future.